Acid
etching is a technique where a flashed colour is etched off the surface
of a colour in the body of the glass. (Other means,
such as sandblasting,
are cheaper and quicker but coarse and vulgar). The Cummins and Stehn
studio prefers the fluid delicacy of acid etching.

The
acid etching of one of six house crests executed for St Joseph’s
College in Brisbane. It is a mouth blown French flashed red on
clear glass. The areas that are to remain red are masked off
and the acid applied to the areas where the red is to be removed.
This photo shows the etching process inside a fume cabinet. The
acid used is hydrofluoric. It is extremely dangerous.

Four
of the six crests have been acid etched.

The
six crests after they have been acid etched, painted and stained
and are ready to be leaded together.

A
recent example of flashed blue on clear acid etching with yellow
kiln fired enamels on the stars.